We walk in, music blasting even louder than the club. There's already a bar set up and stocked. They provided all of the alcohol and setup, opting to just pay her an hourly wage to bartend.
We immediately get to work.
We're cleaning up empty plastic cups around the venue after most of the patrons have already left. The birthday girl and her husband keep chasing after us, insisting we don't need to bother, but Olivia and I refuse and keep helping anyway.
By the time everything is said and done, Olivia is handed the jar full of cash, along with an envelope from the couple. I watch her accept both carefully and thank them again for thinking of her and hiring her for their special event.
We walk back to my car with her arms wrapped around the glass jar, the envelope tucked inside.
I open the door for her and help guide her in so she doesn't bump her head or drop the jar. She sets it at her feet once she's buckled in, and I slide into the driver's seat.
"Should we count it?" she asks, one eyebrow lifting.
"Wait until we pull away," I say with a laugh. "What if they're watching?"
"You're right." Her mouth curves. "Then let's get the fuck out of here."
She nudges my arm against the steering wheel, and I grin before pulling out of the parking lot.
We don't even make it far before she starts pulling cash from the jar. I become painfully aware of the pressure building in my pants. I shift in the seat, adjusting my seatbelt and trying to hide the obvious reaction I'm having to the sight of this gorgeous woman counting hundreds in the passenger seat of my car.
"One, two, three," she starts counting out the hundred dollar bills in the envelope. "Three twenty, three forty, three sixty…"
I watch her sort through the smaller bills, fingers moving fast and sure.
"Holy shit," she says a moment later. "Okay, so with the small bills too, we're at $534 in tips for tonight."
I cough and almost choke on air.
"You okay, Raul?"
"Yeah, I just… Damn." I clear my throat again.
She laughs and hands me a wad of cash. "Here you go."
We're stopped at a red light.
"Don't count it in front of me," she says with a playful wink. "What if I see?"
I smile, feeling something warm and dangerous settle in my chest.
Then she leans over and kisses my cheek.
Soft. Quick. Sweet.
"Thank you again for helping tonight," she says.
"Of course, I was happy to —" I don't get to finish.
She kisses me again.
This time it's real.
My lips part on instinct, and hers open against mine. The kiss is warm and uncertain for half a second, then deeper, more deliberate, her mouth moving against mine with a kind of confidence that makes my whole body go rigid.
I kiss her back before I can think better of it, my pulse kicking hard as the world narrows to nothing but her and the feel of her hand brushing close to my shoulder.
A horn blares behind us.
